Virtual exams: has COVID-19 provided the impetus to change assessment methods in medicine?

Pettit, Matthew; Shukla, Shivani; Zhang, James; Kumar, Karadi Hari Sunil; Khanduja, Vikas

doi:10.1302/2633-1462.22.bjo-2020-0142.r1

Cited by 24 publications

(22 citation statements)

References 45 publications

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“…The scores in our study were similar to the results of other authors [8,[15][16][17]. Advances in online exam software and remote monitoring have prevented cheating, as well as issues with cybersecurity and student authentication [3,7]. Furthermore, [18] observed in a study with veterinary students in Germany that they perceived the electronic exam as fairer and less stressful than other types of exams, such as oral ones, and that the preparation time for an oral exam was longer than for an electronic exam.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 90%

“…Adaptation to this situation has been a challenge around the world, and faculties have had to adjust their teaching and assessment systems [3]. While online teaching activities have been well received by both teachers and students, assessment activities and, more specifically, online exams with proctoring systems have given rise to significant controversies, mainly in science education [4][5][6][7]. Some prevailing concerns among students are related to privacy and various environmental and psychological factors [5].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Li et al (2021) developed an optimization-based anti-collusion approach to remote online testing, minimizing the gain from collusion [9]. Recently, Pettit et al ( 2021) have published a review in which, by analyzing the studies carried out so far, they give a series of recommendations, in order to improve the authentication of candidates and prevent cheating [7].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Preferences and Scores of Different Types of Exams during COVID-19 Pandemic in Faculty of Veterinary Medicine in Spain: A Cross-Sectional Study of Paper and E-exams

2021

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The World Health Organization (WHO) officially declared the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) as a pandemic on 11 March 2020, and educational institutions have had to modify most of their activities (face-to-face activities were suspended). This situation forced academic institutions to modify the evaluation format of students. The use of proctoring systems quickly became widespread, although some controversies arose. The two main discussions regarding these systems are the integrity of the assessment and the capacity of the students to adapt to this new assessment method, without changes in theirs scores. To elucidate two controversies, we have analyzed the preferences and the scores obtained from a trial of 660 scores from 332 students of the third grade of Veterinary Medicine. The experiment involved three modalities of exam: an online format from home using the Respondus Lockdown Browser system (Modality 1), online in person using the Respondus Lockdown Browser system with the supervision of a teacher (Modality 2), or paper format in person with the supervision of a teacher (Modality 3). The results obtained showed that the students preferred Modality 1 (online at home with Respondus Lockdown Browser system). No statistical differences between the scores obtained by students were found between the three modalities analyzed. The proctoring system is a good method to adjudicate exams in higher education institutions, and the scores of students are similar to those obtained through traditional evaluation and control systems.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 90%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Preferences and Scores of Different Types of Exams during COVID-19 Pandemic in Faculty of Veterinary Medicine in Spain: A Cross-Sectional Study of Paper and E-exams

2021

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“…In this case, however, the questions must be chosen accordingly and be directed less towards knowledge-based and more towards application-oriented task types, such as multiple-choice questions with case vignettes or media content. Pettit et al ( 2021 ) did a worth reading literature review on virtual exams, which looked in depth at the challenges of online examination. They describe different possibilities to assess clinical skills in virtual exam and offer question design strategies to mitigate cheating behaviour (Cluskey Jr. et al 2011 ; Pettit et al 2021 ) One must bear in mind that the development and formulation of new question types is usually resource intensive, which is why it is unfortunately still a vision for the future at many universities.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Impact of COVID-19 on digital medical education: compatibility of digital teaching and examinations with integrity and ethical principles

Egarter¹,

Mutschler²,

Brass³

2021

Int J Educ Integr

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The COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019) pandemic in 2020 has had a lasting impact on all areas of personal life. However, the political, economic, legal and healthcare system, as well as the education system have also experienced the effects. Universities had to face new challenges and requirements in teaching and examinations as quickly as possible in order to be able to guarantee high-quality education for their students.This study aims to examine how the German-speaking medical faculties of the Umbrella Consortium of Assessment Network (UCAN) have dealt with the challenges but also the opportunities that the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic created in medical education and whether digitalisation has been driven forward as a result. In an initial online-survey we focused our questions on the current teaching situation with regard to digitised teaching content, the support or establishment of adequate framework conditions by the medical faculties and IT facilities and also the execution of examinations during the summer semester 2020.Between August and September 2020, a total of 88 examiners, educators, dean of study and/or technical admins from 32 partner faculties took part in the survey. Students were not included in our survey. Most respondents stated that a switch to a digital semester had worked, the use of e-learning increased compared to previous semesters and that most courses could be converted, with the exception of practical courses, which were largely cancelled. The respondents also indicated that most examinations could still be taken, with the exception of practical examination formats, like Objective Structured Clinical Examinations (OSCEs). However, in the case of face-to-face examinations, strict distance and hygiene conditions had to be obeyed or there had to be a switch to distance-online examinations, which raised many open issues such as equal opportunities of students (technical equipment, internet access, premises) and attempts at deception (third-party help with the exam, mutual exchange between students, web search).In conclusion, we identified several issues regarding the rapid transition to a digital semester due to COVID-19 which were categorised into the following topics: Face-to-face teaching could not take place, (2) know-how of educators, (3) integrity aspects, (4) technical aspects, (5) additional personnel required, (6) additional time and effort required for implementation of digital teaching. Our study shows that a switch to digital teaching and distance online examinations is feasible, but many problems were encountered concerning academic integrity and basic ethical principles still need to be solved. In order to investigate whether above mentioned issued could be solved one year after the transition to a digital semester, we conducted a second survey in which the 32 initially surveyed institutions were questioned again.

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“…There are many practical caveats to consider to decrease variations in experiences. Pettit summarise these as variations in home environments, which can affect internet issues such as WIFI and bandwidth, while busy households causing noise and potential interruptions are also real considerations (33).…”

Section: Transferabilitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Evaluation of virtual assessment

Joyce

Cassidy

Kenna

2021

Preprint

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BackgroundThe study emerged from the necessity to reschedule an in-person long case examination to an online platform for Physician Associate students’ final clinical examination. The group had already experienced a delay in taking this clinical examination due to missing clinical hours, during Covid-19 restrictions. The aim of this study was to evaluate the experiences of students and examiners for a high stakes’ clinical examination online. Research suggests that the long case is the only clinical examination that promotes holistic assessment. However, a disconnect between the patient’s presence and the student in the virtual environment was a key finding in this study. Methods This was an evaluation research study, using the Context, Input, Process, Product (CIPP) model, which provided a framework to establish the effectiveness and/or success of an online format for a high stakes’ clinical examination. All students and examiners were invited to take part in virtual interviews. ResultsResults suggest that both students (n=5) and examiners (n=7) agree that, while the stress of a face-to-face examination was lessened for the student, this was balanced by a new stressor of potential internet problems. All agreed that a virtual setting for a high stakes assessment is not transferable, with both groups citing the lack of opportunities to ‘read the patient’ and ‘showcase their physical exam skills’ as challenging. Conclusions Our study suggests that, in the context of balancing the risks of the pandemic with graduating healthcare professionals, the online format was a success. The benefits cited included the preparation of students for real life situations in a clinical setting, with a healthcare system now more reliant on virtual consultations, and the capacity to offer increased opportunities for formative assessment of consultation and clinical reasoning skills. However, recommendations suggest that the long case could be planned so that student and patient are in the same setting to perform a ten-minute physical exam, confirming the finding that questions on ‘how to’ examine a patient are no substitute for ‘doing’.

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Virtual exams: has COVID-19 provided the impetus to change assessment methods in medicine?

Cited by 24 publications

References 45 publications

Preferences and Scores of Different Types of Exams during COVID-19 Pandemic in Faculty of Veterinary Medicine in Spain: A Cross-Sectional Study of Paper and E-exams

Preferences and Scores of Different Types of Exams during COVID-19 Pandemic in Faculty of Veterinary Medicine in Spain: A Cross-Sectional Study of Paper and E-exams

Impact of COVID-19 on digital medical education: compatibility of digital teaching and examinations with integrity and ethical principles

Evaluation of virtual assessment

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